To understand why, you need to read the Indianapolis Star's definitive account on what is widely accepted as a real-life haunting. As the paper notes: "Many of the events are detailed in nearly 800 pages of official records obtained by the Indianapolis Star and recounted in more than a dozen interviews with police, DCS personnel, psychologists, family members and a Catholic priest."

In that sense, it's not the family's verbal report of what happened that makes this story so terrifying, it's the fact that supernatural happenings occurred while third-party, impartial investigators documented the case. A few choice excerpts below.

Most Popular

Here's what happened to the children:

The youngest boy, then 7, sat in a closet talking to a boy that no one else could see. The other boy was describing what it felt like to be killed.

Campbell said the 7-year-old once flew out of the bathroom as if he'd been thrown, and a headboard once smacked into Ammons' daughter, causing a wound that needed stitches.

The 12-year-old would later tell mental health professionals that she sometimes felt as if she were being choked and held down so she couldn't speak or move. She said she heard a voice say she'd never see her family again and wouldn't live another 20 minutes.

Here's what happened when Child Services interviewed the children:

DCS family case manager Valerie Washington was asked to handle the initial investigation. She gave the following account to police and in her intake officer's report:

Hospital personnel examined Ammons and her children and found them to be healthy and free of marks or bruises. A hospital psychiatrist evaluated Ammons and determined she was of "sound mind."

Washington interviewed the family in the hospital.

While she spoke with Ammons, the 7-year-old boy started growling with his teeth showing. His eyes rolled back in his head.

The boy locked his hands around his older brother's throat and refused to let go until adults pried his hands open.

Later that evening, Washington and registered nurse Willie Lee Walker brought the two boys into a small exam room for an interview. Campbell joined them.

The 7-year-old stared into his brother's eyes and began to growl again.

"It's time to die," the boy said in a deep, unnatural voice. "I will kill you."

And then this happened:

According to Washington's original DCS report — an account corroborated by Walker, the nurse — the 9-year-old had a "weird grin" and walked backward up a wall to the ceiling. He then flipped over Campbell, landing on his feet. He never let go of his grandmother's hand.

That's only the beginning. We haven't gotten to the point when the police officer's tape recorder breaks down inside the house, or when his squad car radio malfunctions on the drive home, or when his driver's seat starts moving forward and backward by itself.